Lauren Frihauf, who first made waves on NBC's The Voice at age sixteen, released, "Fragments of a Stranger", January 26th, the first single from her forthcoming debut solo album, "Shadows in the Soul Machine". Her first live recording of the song caught the attention of Bobby Carter, producer and contest judge for NPR Music's Tiny Desk contest, in 2022. Carter was stunned by her submission, "Every time I watch this video, it just wrecks me".
In 2021, when her neo-soul duo ended before The Latona EP was released, Frihauf found her calendar cleared at a time when most musicians were getting back to touring. Previously, she had put words to melodies created with collaborators. She was alone, lost and experiencing the emotional turmoil of entering adulthood after the covid pandemic.
As she began her quest to identify who she was as a solo artist, her focus shifted from keys to guitar, which she found liberating. Learning to play, "Cactus Tree," by Joni Mitchell, proved to be pivotal: she became obsessed with open D tuning. "Fragments of a Stranger" was the first song she wrote on guitar. "I don't think it even took me an hour to write; the song was all there and ready to be made."
Her style has been influenced by Nai Palm of Hiatus Kaiyote, whose records she knows, “inside and out”, and her vocals are frequently compared with Joni Mitchell and Madison Cunningham. As her album came together, she assembled a band of stellar musicians deeply rooted in the Denver music scene: Alec Wenzel, on guitar, Callum Bair on bass, the drums and percussion of Braxton Kahn.
Her solo performances have moved unprepared listeners to tears at songwriting festivals in Texas, Montana, and Florida, and her soulful band gets people grooving. “Fragments of a Stranger” marked the beginning of an outpouring of unique lyrics and melodies, which together as, "Shadows in the Soul Machine", provided catharsis for the struggling young artist, meanwhile leaving listeners pining for more.
Check out more of Lauren Frihauf’s music here!
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• Photo by Lisa Siciliano of Dog Daze Photo and Seth Beamer